The fight isn’t over

We’re continuing to work to reduce the Property Transfer TaxIn 2016, BC Premier Christy Clark vowed to make homes more affordable. At the same time, she introduced a series of changes to the Property Transfer Tax (PTT), including:

a 3% PTT on the value of property exceeding $2 million; and

an additional 15% tax for foreign buyers of residential real estate in Metro Vancouver. (In March 2017, foreign nationals with work permits living in Metro Vancouver and paying taxes were exempted from this tax).

Since then the premier has also brought in:

a PTT exemption for first-time buyers of newly-constructed homes valued up to $750,000; and

an exemption to the additional 15% for foreign buyers with work permits.

While these exemptions, help, they don’t go far enough. In 2016/17, the PTT will generate $2 billion in revenue. Of this, the government has: